Housing Research

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Abstract

Housing the urban and the rural poor is a global
problem. It is, however, more critical in the
economically less developed countries of the world.
In the African region, the situation is aggravated
by the rapid growth of population; high rate of
urbanization; shortages of professional and paraprofessional
manpower; lack of finacial resources;
inappropriate standards and technologies for housing;
slow rate of housing and infrastructure construction,
inflated cost of land and building materials; and
inadequate research and development, institutional and
managerial facilities, amon~st others..Shelter is a basic human need. The process of housing affects
all individuals. However, there is too little or inadequate
objective and systamatic study of the various aspects of
housing, especially in the developing countries. Today there
is no science of housing, there are only opinions, convictions,
and prejudices about itl . Since housing is a complex process,
only some of the problems can be studied under traditional
scientific classification. Many of the problems are interdisciplinary,
overlapping different fields of knowledge.
They require both technical and socio-economic research2
.02. The various problems of housing cut across a wide range of
fields of knowledge. These include, amongst others:-
1. Natural and Physical Sciences;
2. Technical knowledge;
3. Economics;
4. Laws and Regulations;
5. Humanities and Behavorial Sciences;
6. Design and Planning;
7. Manufacturing and Construction Processes •
.03. It is beyond the scope of this paper to study in detail
the various areas of housing research related to the above
mentioned fields. However, various overall aspects of housing
research will be outlined and the importance of research
in the development process will be highlighted. Special
reference will be made to the organization, objectives and
activities of the Housing Research and Development Unit (HRDU)
in the University of Nairobi, Kenya, as an example of the
housing research in a developing country.